Traditional Chinese medicine and the Heart

The heart system includes the heart and small intestine organs and their pairs of meridians. The heart's energy job is not only to govern the blood but also the spirit, our sense of self, and our psyche. This sense of spirit/self is called shen. The heart energy gives us the ability to have a strong sense of community while maintaining our sense of individuality within that community. A heart personality would be a good communicator, a natural leader, connecting people and giving them a grander purpose. A heart person wouldn't order people around, but would connect them, creating a synergy that makes the group more than the sum of its parts.

If the heart energy is out of balance, these people can feel a real sense of isolation or loneliness even if surrounded by people. They just don't feel that sense of connection or community and they long for companionship.

Our sense of peace of mind comes from the heart system. When it's out of balance, a person can have trouble with anxiety and a racing mind that jumps from topic to topic. A racing heart or panic attacks can occur. They can have difficulty falling asleep at night or getting back to sleep if they wake up too early because the mind just starts racing. The more disturbed the heart becomes, the more trouble that person will have maintaining a hold on their thoughts and it can escalate from agitated to anxious, to panicky, to manic, to delusional.

Emotionally, the out of balanced heart sees themselves as having something missing that needs to be filled. When out of balance, they tend to absorb other people to feel whole and when the other person can't maintain that level of enmeshment, the union falls apart. Click to learn how Chinese medicine treats Sciatica.

When the heart energy is strong and balanced you feel like you are complete but you desire to share and be known by others and to know them deeply. A strong and balanced heart person brings a synergy and fulfillment to a relationship that enriches both people. By balancing the heart energy, you can create healthy relationships with others where you can connect deeply without creating an enmeshed relationship.

To promote a healthy and balanced heart, people need to create a more peaceful environment, do fewer different activities in a day, limit disturbing news or TV shows, and avoid caffeine and other stimulants.